Charles h



C. H. ADAMS.

FAN ATTACHMENT FOB AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, I9! 7.

1,315,754. Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIcE.

CHARLES H. ADAMS, or DENvEmoomnADo, ASSIGNOR 0E ONE-FOURTH T0 E;PETERSON, or DENVER, COLORADO.

FAN ATTACHMENT FOR.AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed September 25, 1917.

To all ac/tom. it may concern:

lie it known that I, (ii-mantis I-I. AnAMs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residingat the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and useful IIDPI'QVGlIlGfltS in FanAttachments for Autgnnohilcs; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the inventiomwsuchas will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thecharacters of reference marked thereon. which form a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to means :for clear- I ion the dust from in frontof the wind-shield of automobiles, whereby the occupants of the car areprotected from the dust usually incident to automobilinp; on dry roadsin the country and other locations. It is well known that in dry weatherand on roads that are much traveled by automobiles, the atmosphere isusually betogged with dust constantly, thus makingit necessary for theoccupants of the car to breathe thedust laden air. Furthermore, thisdust settles on the car and its occupants. thus greatly interfer-ingwith the pleasiu'e o1 automobiling.

My improvement intended to overcome this difficulty at least in a largedegree, and consists in equippin the car preferably just forward of thewind-shield with a fan con nected in operative rolatiormvith the engine,whereby when the car is in motion, this fan will be rotated and dispelthe dust from the space directly in front. oil. the windshield,

and thus render the air passing through and around the wind-shield. butin close proxiinity thereto, freer from dust than would. otherwise be.This device also prevents snow or sleet, as well as dust from gatheringupon the wind-shield and obstructing the view since the fan propels thedust, sleet or snow forward and outward from the windshield.

As illustrated in the drawing, I mount a bearing upon the body of thecar between the hood and the wind-shield and in this bear ing I journalthe fan, a flexible shaft being connected at one extremity with thisjournal and at its opposite extremity with a pulley mounted on theradiator and actuated by the fan belt. It will be understood that anysuitable operative connection between the fan and the engine shaft maybe em- Speci ficat ion of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

Serial No. 193,123.

ployed .without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention.

Having briefly outlined my improvement, I

will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to theaccompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. Inthis drawing:

Figure 1 is a front view of an automobile equipped with my improvement,the radiator eing partly broken away in order to better disclose theoperating mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22, Fig. 1 looking toward theright.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view showing the fan and its connectionwith a flexible shaft on a larger scale.

Fig. 4 is a section taken through the pulley with which the lower end ofthe flexible shaft is connected.

Fig. 5 is a section cutting the journal of the fan wheel andillustrating its connection with the flexible shaft, the parts beingshown on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6, Fig. 5 looking toward theright. i

Fig. 7 is a perspective of the inner clutch member viewed in generalfrom the same line looking; toward the left.

Thesame reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views,

Let the numeral 5 designate a post having a base plate (1 securedto thebody of an automobile 7 just forward of the wind-shield 8. The upperextremity of this post is provided. with a hearing; 9 in which isjournaled ,the short or stub shaft 10 of a fan wheel 12.

This fan wheel as illustra ted in the drawing consists of a hub 13,blades 14: and a rim 15 with which the outer extremities of the bladesare connected. The stub shaft 10 of the tan Wheel is bored, as shown at16, to receive one extremity 17 of a flexible shaft 18, the bottom ofthe bore or socket 16 being; toothed, as shown at 19, to cooperate withsimilar teeth 20 formed on the inner extremity of the part 17 of theflexible shaft, so that if the flexible shaft rotates, the teeth 20 willinterlock with the teeth 19 and rotate the :tan wheel. Provision ismade, however, to allow the fan wheel to expend its momentum after theengine shaft, and consequently the flexible shaft, has ceased to rotate.For this purpose a pin 21 is passed through a slot 22 extending throughthe part 17 of the flexible shaft. A spiral spring 23 is placed in theslot, one of its extremities engaging the pin 21 while the other extremity engages the opposite end wall of the slot. This spring is ofsuch character that after the flexible shaft ceases to rotate, it willyield sufficiently in response to the pressure of the pin 21 to allowthe fan wheel to rotate under momentum without rotating the flexibleshaft. The pin 21 extends lnto a circumferential. recess 24: formedpartly in the shaft member 10 of the fan wheel and partly in a retainingcol.- lar 25 applied to the end of said shaft member for retainingtheflexible shaft in operative connection with the shaft member of the fanwheel, the collar being secured in place by means of screws 26.

As illustrated in the drawing, the flexible shaft below the fanwheel'passes through an opening 27 formed in the body of the machine,the opposite extremity of this shaft terminating in a cup member :28which is secured to a small pulley 29 which is mounted on a stationaryshaft 30 terminating in a plate 31 which is secured to the radiator bysuitable fastening devices 32. The pulley 29 is connected with thestation ary shaft or journal 30 by a screw and a washer or plate 34.This pulley 29 is so located that it is engaged by the fan belt 35 whenthe engine is in operation, the fan belt being operated from the engineshaft 36 and being connected with a small pulley 37 fast on the hub ofthe fan 38 arranged in the usual manner within the hood.

From the foregoing description the use and operation of my improvementwill be readily understood. As soon as the engine starts, motion istransmitted to the fan wheel 12 through the medium of the connectionsheretofore described. The rotation of this fan wheel drives the dust orstorm laden atmosphere forward," away from the wind-shield of themachine, and consequently frees the an- 111 front of the occupants ofthe car from dust or at least reduce the amount of dust and prevents theaccumulation of dust, snow or sleet upon the wind-shield.

Attention is called to the fact that my improvement may be employed onvehicles of all characters as well as upon automobiles. F or instance,it may be advantageously employed on railway cars and in all otherrelations where the function of clearing the atmosphere in front of thecar or vehicle is to be accomplished duringthe movement of thevehicle.Furthermore, the fan or fan wheel may be operated from a traction wheelof the vehicle through themedium of proper gearing or other connectionsas well as from the motor of a motor driven vehicle. Hence, it will beunderstood that the use of the device is not limited to motor drivenvehicles.

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a dust and storm clearing attachment for automobiles and othervehicles, the combination with the vehicle, of a windshield and afanmounted on the front part of the vehicle and immediately in front ofthe windshield, and an operative connection between the fan and theengine.

2. In a structure of the class described, the combination with a motoroperated vehicle, of a windshield and a fan mounted on the front part ofthe vehicle and in1- mediately in front of the windshield a shaftoperated from the motor, and an operative connection between the shaftand fan to permit the latter to rotate after the shaft has stopped.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CHARLES H. ADAMS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

